1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of hay bale transport trailers, and more particularly relates to trailers having self-loading/unloading capabilities.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various self-loading trailers, truck dump beds and hay balers have been disclosed, see for example Wetz U.S. Pat. No. 5,496,144 issued Mar. 5, 1996, Hunter U.S. Pat. No. 5,383,714 issued Jan. 24, 1995, Wigness U.S. Pat. No. 5,135,343 issued Aug. 4, 1992, Nine U.S. Pat. No. 4,579,497 issued Apr. 1, 1986, Edelman U.S. Pat. No. 3,877,595 issued Apr. 15, 1975, McNutt U.S. Pat. No. 4,326,827 issued Apr. 27, 1982, all of which are incorporated herein by reference. These prior trailers have typically suffered from one or more of the following problems or disadvantages: (1) the use of a cable which needs to be placed about the bale of hay requiring manual effort for placement, (2) the use of an arcuate bale member to extend over the periphery of the bale requiring the bale be approached from a predetermined direction, (3) the use of clamp arms requiring the bale be approached from a given direction having the center of gravity of the bale originally disposed considerably to the rear of cradle tines, (4) the use of a stabber requiring the bale be approached from a given direction, (5) the use of a bale axle retaining collar requiring manual effort for use and requiring that the bale be approached from a given direction, and (6) the use of a dump bed requiring the use of a modified vehicle rather than a conventional pick up truck.
Consequently, there is a need for a bale loading trailer that can be used to load large round bales of hay regardless of the direction of approach to the bale and without the need for substantial manual labor during loading and unloading.